The Rocker That Holds Me (5 page)

Axton was still trying to call the guys. But so far hadn’t been able to reach any of them. A nurse had told him he had to go outside to use his cellphone, and I haven’t seen him in more than ten minutes. My butt was going numb from sitting for a solid hour without moving and even though I desperately wanted a nap, I couldn’t bring myself to relax enough to do so.

The door to my exam room opened and in walked the doctor. There was a tech behind him pushing a huge machine and I wondered what the hell they were going to do to me. Seeing the fear in my eyes the doctor was quick to explain. “It’s okay. This is just something to do an ultrasound with.”

“Why do I need an ultrasound? Isn’t that for pregnant women?”

The doctor nodded. “Mostly, yes. But it is used for other things. However, after getting back your blood results we have found the reason for your sickness and need to do a little exploring.”

My blood seemed to freeze in my veins. He knew what was wrong with me. I was terrified of the answer but needed to know. “So what is the matter? What’s wrong with me?”

He shrugged. “Nothing that won’t clear itself up in due course.” He smiled. “It seems that you are pregnant.”

I was sure that I was hallucinating. He couldn’t have just said that I was pregnant. No. No. NO! I shook my head frantically. “That can’t be it. Check again. The tests are wrong.”

The doctor frowned at my reaction but spoke in a soothing voice. “Let’s do an ultrasound. That way we can determine if the blood work was wrong. And if it wasn’t we can give you a due date.”

The heart monitor attached to my chest was going berserk. My heart was racing with my fear, dread,
anxiety. It had to be wrong. It just had to be. Please, let it be wrong. Because if it wasn’t wrong my life with the guys will be destroyed. They will never trust me again. “Okay.” It came out wobbly, and I couldn’t do anything about it.

The tech came up to
the right side of the bed and smiled down at me while the doctor dimmed the lights. “When was your last period dear?” She asked softly. She was pretty, probably in her late thirties. There was a huge rock on her ring finger and a slight bump under her scrubs telling me that she was pregnant herself.

I tried to remember when my last period was.
I wasn’t the most regular of women. And I haven’t really cared about tracking it. My life was so busy that when it showed up I just shrugged and went on with my life. If it didn’t it wasn’t a big deal. Finally I gave up. “I have never been regular.” I told her honestly. “I can’t remember when I last had one.”

She nodded. “That’s okay.” She was typing something into the big machine and then she pulled up my shirt and tugged my jeans and panties down slightly. The gel she but on my belly was surprisingly warm. Then she was pressing a wand into my lower abdomen and I was grimacing in pain.
I felt bloated and uncomfortable as she moved the wand around.

I watched her closely, switching my gaze from what she was doing to my body to what she was doing on the screen. The doctor was watching over her shoulder, nodding. “Okay.” The tech said with a small smile. “
We can see a heartbeat. Arms, legs. Spine looks good.” She twisted a nob and the sound of galloping filled the room. “Strong heartbeat…What do you think doctor?”

“Looks like
she is right at eighteen weeks…Can you tell the sex?”

I tuned them out for a moment. My gaze entrapped on the screen.
The outline of a tiny being stared back at me. A waving hand, a kicking foot. My breath caught in my chest and I couldn’t breathe. Somewhere deep inside of my chest my heart melted and I fell head over heels in love with the creature on the screen.

“Well…” The doctor and the tech chuckled.

My head snapped in their direction. “What?” I whispered.

“Your baby wants to make sure that you know just what it is.” The doctor touched the screen and I saw that the two legs were spread apart. “Congratulations. You are having a girl.”

Tears burnt my eyes and I blinked rapidly to keep them at bay. “A girl.” I breathed.

The tech took a few more pictures, then printed off one and handed it to me.
“For your baby book. Baby’s first picture.” She smiled and left the room without the machine.

“Well you are very much pregnant, Em.” The doctor, who I was sure had told me his name but I had been to out of it to remember, gave me a questioning look. “Eighteen weeks and three days by the measurements.
That puts your due date on November sixth.” He scribbled something on the iPad he had in his hands.

“Is she okay?” I couldn’t help but think of how sick I had been over the last month. “Did I hurt her?”

He was quick to reassure me. “No. The amniotic fluid is perfect, so your dehydration didn’t affect the baby. It’s probably why you were so sick though. Everything you were able to take in was going straight to her. Her heart rate is good; she’s moving around…You don’t feel it?”

My hand touched my lower stomach. There really was a little being inside of me. A tear escaped and trailed down my cheek. “No.” I whispered. “Is that normal?”

The doctor shrugged. “Every woman is different. Some don’t feel the baby until well into the fifth month. Second time mothers feel it sooner. You seem on schedule…So how are you feeling emotionally about the baby. Your reaction when I told you about the blood work wasn’t exactly…”

I shook my head. “I was scared. Am still so terrified I don’t know if this is a nightmare or not. But seeing her...” I clutched the ultrasound photo to my chest. “That changed everything.”

“It normally does.” He pulled a chair over and sat beside me. “Okay. So we have established that this is a shock, but now that you have seen her you are…Happy?”

I snorted. “I’m not t
hrilled about this, doctor. But...” I sucked in a deep breath. “But I’m not unhappy about it. If that makes sense.”

“Perfect sense.”
He was punching something into the iPad. “Why was this such a surprise, Em? You don’t have a boyfriend?”

“This was a surprise because I have had sex a total of once in my life.” I told him honestly. “And the guy…He doesn’t even remember it happened.
When I tell him that I’m pregnant.” I closed my eyes. “He is going to go crazy.”

“Is he still a part of your life?”

“He’s part of my everything.” I glared at the opposite wall. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

The doctor opened his mouth to say something, I have no clue what it was because suddenly the door to the exam room was shoved open and in stormed all four of my guys. Before I could even register that news Jesse was beside of me and Drake was pushing the doctor out of his way to get to me.

“Emmie.” Jesse was running his hands over my hair, taking in my IV and heart monitor. He was pale, shaking, and there were tears in his big brown eyes. “Are you okay? Tell me you’re okay, Em.”

“We came as soon as we heard.” Drake was clutching my hand. “I’m sorry we didn’t get here sooner.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Nik was standing at the foot of the bed, his attention on the doctor who was staring at the four of them with his mouth gaping open. “Is she going to be alright?”

The doctor finally dropped his gaze back on her and raised a brow in inquiry. I shook my head, not ready to tell any of them what was wrong with me, let alone that one of them was about
to be called daddy. The man cleared his throat. “She came in severely dehydrated. We aren’t sure exactly what is going on, but will be keeping her overnight for observation.”

Jesse turned his gaze on the doctor and I felt sorry for him. Jesse, with his bald head, tattoos and bulky frame was intimidating. “You don’t know what is wrong with her?” The doctor shook his head. “Then get off your ass and do some fucking tests.”

“Jesse.” I captured his hand and linked our fingers together. “Calm down. The doctor is doing all he can. And I’m already feeling much better.”

The fire in his eyes dimmed when he turned back to me. “I just want to know what’s wrong.” He told me in a softer tone tha
n what he had used with the doctor.

“We’re getting her a bed now and she will be moved soon. I suggest that you gentlemen go get some rest and you can see this young lady first thing in the morning. Right now she needs some rest.”

Four pairs of eyes turned to glare at the poor doctor. “We aren’t leaving.” They all said in unison. “Emmie is ours. We’re staying with her.” Shane informed him.

The doctor left, annoyed and muttering under his
breath. But I felt cherished. Especially when Drake and Jesse gently squeezed me between the two of them in a hug. “I was so scared.” Jesse whispered against my hair. “Jesus Em! You should have seen a doctor before now.”

I clutched him tighter. “It’s nothing. I’m fine now.”

“It isn’t nothing!”

My head shot up at the vehemence in Nik’s tone. He
was normally the calm one. The one that kept his cool when the other three were ready to tear things apart. But as I watched he shoved the doctor’s chair so hard it slid the length of the room and crashed to its side when it hit the wall. His fingers raked through his thick sandy brown hair and pulled on the ends like a demented person. “Axton said you were unconscious when he first got you here! Unconscious Emmie! Do you not understand how serious this fucking is? Has it slipped your attention that people die from dehydration?!” He turned away from us and actually punched the wall.

My heart shattered a l
ittle at how upset he was. For several minutes we were all quiet, while Nik leaned against the wall he had just punched, breathing hard. Drake tried to keep me calm, soothingly running his fingers through the ends of my hair, rubbing my back. Jesse just stood there, holding my hand. Shane paced, his usual go to when he was stressed.

“Nik…” I whispered his name, unable to handle the distance between us now. I couldn’t go to him, the IV and heart monitor had me trapped in the bed. But I need
ed him to hold me more than anyone else.

He blew out a long drawn out sigh and turned to face me. His hands scrubbed across his cheeks, telling me that he had been crying. That’s when I saw the blood on his knuckles.
They were scrapped. “Nik.” I pulled away from Jesse and Drake and held my arms out for him, silently begging him to come to me.

Drake moved out of the way as Nik
crossed to me. He sat on the edge of the bed and I wrapped myself around him. My arms wrapped around his neck and pulled his head down to my chest. “I’m okay.” I whispered against his ear and he trembled. “I’m here.”

Strong arms tightened around me almost painfully. “I’m sorry Emmie. I’m so sorry.” I didn’t say anything, just rocked him against me while he cried.

Dull light was filtered through the window by plastic blinds. I groaned at the disturbance to my sleep and turned on my side away from the window, wanting nothing but to go back to sleep.

The pain in my arm as I moved made me open my eyes again. I couldn’t turn on my arm because my IV line wouldn’t allow it. The events of the evening before came flooding back into my sleep fogged mind and without thinking my hand covered my lower stomach. My baby girl was in there.

Deep snores around the room made me raise my head. The nursing staff had been both aggravated and thrilled at my posse when I was put in my private room the night before. Some of them were Demon’s Wings fans; others were just in awe at having the rockers in the same building as them.

Chairs were brought without having to be asked for, along with pillows and blankets. Now my guys were spread around the room sleeping like the dead. With a happy smile on my lips I reached for the hand that was laying so close to my own on the bed. Jesse actually jerked awake when I touched him.
“Emmie?”

“I’m still here.” I assured him.

He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I need coffee.”

“You and me both.”
Nik muttered from his chair to my right. He twisted his neck right and left, trying to get the tension out of them. “I’ll go find us some.” He stood and dropped a kiss on my forehead. “Need anything, baby girl?”

“Something cold and lemony?”
My mouth felt gooey.

“You got it.” He promised an
d kissed me again.

I was unable to take my eyes off of him until he was out of sight. Jesse shook his head.
“Idiots.” He muttered under his breath.

“Shut up, Jess.”
Damn him for seeing everything!

“Just stating the obvious, Em.”
He stood, cracking his neck and back until he was able to move around with ease. “Wow, you look better. I haven’t seen color in your cheeks in weeks.”

Drake and Shane were up by the time Nik returned with coffee and a soft drink for me. The lemon lime flavor of the soda was like heaven for my taste buds and I gulped half of it before having to stop and belch. My guys laughed at me because I could belch with the best of them.

A nurse with short gray hair walked in without knocking. A clip board in one hand and a little machine pulled along behind her with the other. She shook her head at my guys, and weaved her way through them to get to me. “Looks like you get to go home, Miss Jameson.”